BOSTON - Setting a goal of reducing recidivism by 50 percent in the next five years, Gov. Deval Patrick unveiled a package of reforms aimed at shifting the criminal justice system’s focus to rehabilitation.

Patrick, speaking Thursday at UMass Boston, announced initiatives to promote successful re-entry and to take a new treatment-oriented approach toward drug abuse and mental illness. He proposed new training programs to help prepare inmates to reintegrate into society after they’re released. The governor also called for greater access to substance abuse treatment programs for prisoners.

Patrick also addressed the case of Joshua Messier, a diagnosed schizophrenic who died in 2009 while being restrained by prison guards at Bridgewater State Hospital.

“I share the concerns many of you have on the procedure that was followed and the actions that were taken in the aftermath of the tragedy,” Patrick said. “In the coming days, we will have a full accounting.”

Patrick said physical restraints and solitary confinement should only be used on mentally ill inmates in the most extreme cases. He also called for an additional $1 million in funding to train Department of Correction staff in how to better handle mentally ill inmates.

Patrick issued a call to move beyond the “tough-on-crime” slogan of the past and embrace an approach based on “evidence, experience and wisdom.”

“We think there is a more pragmatic, more effective and most efficient way to think about criminal justice, one that deals with the realities of today, learns from the experience of the past, and actually makes the public safer,” he said.

After the governor spoke, nonprofit MassINC released polling data that shows public sentiment in favor of a criminal justice system that prioritizes prevention and rehabilitation over punishment.

Of those polled, 59 percent said they think released inmates are more likely to reoffend due to being “hardened” in prison. Two-thirds said they would prefer reforms that result in fewer people being sent to prison rather than building more prisons.

Max Stern, co-chairman of the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, said he’s encouraged by the focus on reducing recidivism and taking a rehabilitative approach to inmates with mental health and substance abuse issues.

“This is the right path,” he said. “These are very good first steps, but let’s be clear: These are first steps and there is a lot more work we will have to do.”

The governor’s proposals include a policy to send civilly committed individuals to public health facilities rather than state prisons. The plan also calls for increasing substance abuse treatment options for inmates.

“We have to treat substance abuse as a health problem rather than a criminal one,” Patrick said. “Punishing people for addiction doesn’t work. We have to divert drug users to treatment rather than incarceration.”

Page 2 of 2 - John Larivee, CEO of Community Resources for Justice, said he is happy to see a focus on substance abuse and mental illness.

“The more we can do that in the world of corrections and jails, we’ll see much better outcomes,” he said.

Patrick also proposed a “step-down” program in which certain state prison inmates would be allowed to serve their sentences in county-run houses of corrections.

“I can’t overstate the significance of the step-downs at the Department of Correction,” Secretary of Public Safety and Security Andrea Cabral said. “That reconnection to the community creates a commensurate responsibility to community and family.”